DiNOLA: From the swamp to the desert and back again, the hardest-a** band in New Orleans comes home with a smashing self-titled debut Born in New Orleans, transformed in the desert at the legendary Rancho de la Luna studio and forged in the blazing inferno of Jimmy Descant’s Instant Art, DiNOLA comes full circle on its debut CD, DiNOLA, with the song that started it all: “I Wanna Die in New Orleans.” Written by DiNOLA drummer Jimmy Ford and Queens of the Stone Age/Eagles of Death Metal guitarist Dave Catching during the first incarnation of New Orleans’ notorious Gnarltones, “I Wanna Die In New Orleans” went on to become a parade-route smash for Pink Slip, the first-ever all-female Mardi Gras band fronted by DiNOLA vocalist Sue Ford. So when Jimmy Ford joined forces with guitarist Eric Laws and bassist Eddie Payne, whose musical telepathy dates back to high school, it’s only natural that Sue snarled “gimme that mic!” and started belting out “Die.” From that molten core was born the band DiNOLA, named in homage to its trademark song. Following a furious burst of songwriting, DiNOLA piled into a Cutlass convertible and headed for Rancho de la Luna studio in Joshua Tree, founded by DiNOLA producer Dave Catching. There, amid palm trees canopied by shooting stars, they joined a long line of Rancho recording alumni: Mark Lannegan, Foo Fighters, Kyuss, Arctic Monkey, Victoria Williams, Daniel Lanois and PJ Harvey, to name but a few. “It’s good to leave your regular environment and take the band and your music and isolate yourself in the desert,” says Sue. “And have the freedom to give it up to a producer you trust and just let it happen, magically.” Armed with masterfully mixed tracks, the band headed home to a baptism by fire at their first-ever live performance: “Descant vs. DiNOLA,” a no-holds-barred Instant Art assemblage by Jimmy “Rocketman” Descant, soundtracked by DiNOLA , at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art. Call it a battle of the bandsaws. With sparks flying and Descant’s blow-torch blazing, Sue’s searing voice and Law’s incendiary guitar burst “On Fire” as Ford and Payne’s kamikaze drums and base spurred the sweat-drenched artist to pound his vision home. Building to a climax to “Die” for, the performance riveted a crowd that rose to its feet when Descant hoisted the finished Instant Artwork above his head: an iconographic map of Louisiana bisected by an electric guitar. DiNOLA returns to Joshua Tree this summer to record their second album, but relocation is not an option. “I love the desert but I still want to die in New Orleans,” says Sue. “Going down that avenue on the float, rockin’ it to a million people.”